CASE STUDY: HOODIA GORDONII

By

E Swart & C Geldenhuys

Department of Tourism, Environment and Conservation,

Northern Cape,

South Africa

Cancun,

Mexico

15-22 November 2008

INTRODUCTION

• Hoodia gordonii

(Apocynaceae, 14 species)

• Perennial succulent

• Finger-like stems branching

at ground level

• Biological information,

population trends and

resource availability estimates

lack

HOODIA GORDONII

• 15-20 year life span

• 3-6 years before flower

• Protracted flowering

• 250 seeds / follicle

• Weedy character

• Natural die-back events

• Southern African distribution range

• Diverse habitats

• Patchy spatial distribution

• Role in ecosystem

is unknown

• Appetite

suppressant (P57)

HOODIA GORDONII

H. gordonii

H. alstonii

H. officinalis ssp. officinalis

H. pilifera ssp. pilifera

H. pilifera ssp. annulata

H. flava

TRADE• Export dry material / extracts / seeds /

seedlings (no live exports outside natural range)

• Cultivated & wild crafted material traded

• Wild crafted include dead material collected

(52.4% dead)

• Export primarily within

South Africa (UK, Spain)

• Illegal harvesting (15.7t)

• Decline in wild demand

NDF ASSESSMENTS• Literature, anecdotal

information (experts,

industry, etc.), RAMR

information

• RAMR

– Demographic information via

quadrant method

• Health

– Density information via line

transect method

• Quota

GUIDELINES FOR HARVESTING

HOODIA GORDONII

100 m

100 m

Farm boundary

Hoodia populations

(clusters) on the

farm

Demographic information

Rating: 0 (healthy plant) Rating: 2 (infested plant) Rating: 3 (dying plant)

• Visual health rating

• L : D ratio

• Adult : Juvenile/seedling

250 m long line

transects

Farm boundary

Hoodia populations on

the farm

Density information

NDF guidelines

• Landowner harvest own property

• Property having excess of 2500 plants of optimum size, good health

• Size >40cm diameter

• Harvest every 2nd to 4th plant (5cm above ground level)

• 25% of canopy (fingers) / 20% of seed harvest

• Southern side (down wind)

NDF guidelines

• Disinfect cutting blade after each plant

(3% chlorine, Jik)

• Lime sulphur powder on scars

• Harvest when not in flower

(April – August,

summer rainfall areas)

• Record wet mass vs

dry mass

NDF CRITERIA / PARAMETERS

• Applications evaluated

individually

• Surface area surveyed in

relation to farm size / clusters

occurrence on property (1%)

• Population health

– D:L, infections, seedling:

adult, associated

environmental threats, health

ratings (guide)

NDF CRITERIA / PARAMETERS

• Extrapolate population size (plants/ha for quota)– 4 x 250m / 1km line transect (optimum potential

resource)

– Line transect vs plot data (should be comparative)

• Harvesting history– No harvesting same site / rested / re-evaluation

• Harvesting method prescribed

• Precautionary principle– Quality of data

DATA QUANTITY / QUALITY

• Data = site specific, extrapolated

• Granted for 1.34% of potential distribution

area in NC (SA), not cluster distribution

• Non-destructive harvesting

• Concern: harvesting concentrated in S

ranges (alter distribution pattern)

DATA QUANTITY / QUALITY• Guideline booklets – constant methods, but

surveyors implemented differently

• Concern: parallel line transect method overestimation

• RAMR enable basic resource assessment

• Provincial resource lack, thus no comparison can be made

• Regeneration and survival info lack, limiting predictive impacts of harvests – infer protracted seed production would ensure resettlement

DATA QUANTITY / QUALITY

• Tolerance to harvesting unknown - inferred as it is browsed

• Conversion estimates (wet:dry ratio etc.) not quantified and scientifically verified

• 2002 - March 2008 harvested wild material relates to ca. 0.25 mil. plants

– conversions lack

statistical analysis

(variation)

KEY LESSONS• A review on species by person who attend to

NDF

• RAMR & harvesting facilitated obtainment of

information

• RAMR information should be augmented by

research and provincial (global) resource

assessments

• Client cooperation is vital

• Spatial analysis of area being harvested vs

distribution might be useful

KEY LESSONS

• Training videos if clients need to do surveys / consultant

• Initially thought wild harvesting to be an interim arrangement (thereafter Moratorium) – impact on community applications?

• Authority cooperation in permit monitoring

• Checklists / guidelines to calculate quotas could address personnel turnover

• No management on internet trade

THANK YOU